Pet Tools

I’ve noticed over the years that many mechanics have a favorite hammer.

One co-worker will swing nothing except a wooden-handled hammer. Another doesn’t consider a

Dan Anderson has great affection for his favorite hammer

hammer “worthy” of using unless it weighs at least four pounds. Personally, I’ve grown very fond of a 32-ounce ball peen dead-blow hammer with an orange polyurethane handle.

For years I thought it was just habit that encouraged me to always reach for that orange-handle when I needed a beater, but I recently proved to myself that there are differences in the way a hammer “feels.”

A tool dealer had a two-fer deal where I received a free hammer when I bought a ratchet set that I needed. Long story short, the hammer is a new high-tech design that has a sort of tuning fork hidden in the handle. The theory is that the fork resonates or mirrors or somehow damps the vibrations the user feels through the handle.

Since it was the “new toy” in the toolbox, I consciously reached for it for a couple weeks, just to see if it lived up to its claims. It certainly feels different from all my other hammers, and I kind of like it. Maybe. Sort of.

But I noticed last week that the new hammer has migrated to the bottom of my hammer drawer, and that Ol’ Faithful, the orange-handled workhorse, is again at the top of the pile. I don’t know why — maybe it fits my hand better. Maybe I like the way the grip feels. Maybe my eyes simply fall on the orange polyurethane handle.

Whatever the reason, I now acknowledge and accept that I play favorites with my hammer collection. I think I’ll name it “Bob.”